October 19, 2009

Argentina's farmers put the first 2009-10 soy seeds in the ground last week, as early planking kicked off in the northern provinces of Entre Rios and Chaco, the Agriculture Secretariat said in its weekly crop report.

 

In Entre Rios "planting is delayed due to rain [and] widespread planting is expected to start towards the end of this month," the Secretariat said.

 

In Chaco province, soil moisture levels are poor. Some are taking a risk and planting already, but many farmers are waiting for more rain, according to the Secretariat.

 

Argentina is expected to set a new record for soy area and production this year because of favourable weather conditions due to a mild El Nino and a shift away from wheat and corn because of export limits on those crops.

 

Agricultural analysts polled by Dow Jones Newswires forecast 2009-10 soy production of between 48 million and 55 million tonnes, which would smash by as much as 15 percent the previous record of 47.5 million tonnes grown in 2006-07.

 

Private analysts see planted area at 18 million to 20 million hectares, up from the previous high of 16.6 million hectares.

 

Wheat conditions are generally good, although dryness is affecting the crop in the south of Buenos Aires province and in the western fringes of the farm belt, according to the Secretariat.

 

The Buenos Aires Cereals Exchange forecasts 2009-10 wheat production at a dismal 7.5 million tonnes.

 

That's down sharply from the average of 14.8 million tonnes over the previous five years.

 

With domestic demand pegged at 6.5 million tonnes by the government, just one million tonnes of wheat are likely to be left over for export from the 2009-10 crop.

 

Good conditions due to the rain allowed corn planting to leap forward over the last week.

 

According to the Buenos Aires Exchange, as of Wednesday, 49 percent of the forecast 1,875,000 hectares had been seeded with commercial corn.

 

The Rosario Grain Exchange forecasts total corn planting of 2.3 million hectares, with 2009-10 production at about 16 million tonnes.

 

The government has pegged domestic consumption of corn from the 2009-10 crop at 8 million tonnes, leaving an equal amount available for export, according to the Rosario exchange.

 

Sunflower seed planting conditions are improving across much of the farm belt, but conditions are still dry in the northern provinces.

 

The Buenos Aires exchange forecasts nationwide planted area of 1.9 million hectares, down 15 percent on the year.

 

As of Wednesday, 14.1 percent of the forecast sunseed area had been planted, according to the Buenos Aires exchange.

 

The Rosario Grain exchange forecasts sunseed production of 3.4 million tonnes, up from about 3 million tonnes last season when yields suffered because of drought.